Ask the Author: Kelli Estes
Answered Questions (12)
Kelli Estes
Thank you so much, Melanie! You can find my second novel in stores. It is Today We Go Home and is the story of a woman who disguises herself as a man to enlist in the army to fight in the Civil War. Her diary is inherited in present day by an army veteran who just returned home from Afghanistan and is struggling to find her new life as a civilian. The diary helps her make sense of her experiences. I hope you give it a read!
Kelli Estes
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Kelli Estes
Hi Shannon! Thank for your question. A production company currently has the film option for The Girl Who Wrote in Silk and are in the process of trying to develop it into a limited series for television. A lot of things have to fall into place before it happens, so cross your fingers!
Kelli Estes
Thank you so much, Katherine! <3 To answer your question, I just imagined that the scenario was happening to me (it helped that my youngest was the same age as the child in the scene) and let it all come out onto the page. I think the key is to give yourself permission to be open and raw, even if you have to promise yourself that no one else will ever have to see it if you don't want them to. It may feel scary to write so emotionally, but those are the scenes that readers connect with the most, and are always worth it. Happy writing!
Kelli Estes
No, I did not have any say in the reader of the audiobook. That decision was made by the publishing house, Blackstone Audio. :-)
Kelli Estes
I love that you are building her library. What a fantastic idea! I feel so honored that you chose my book as the one you are adding this year. Thank you!
At this time, I don't have another book with a China theme planned, but I only work on one book at a time, so who knows? Maybe in the future!
At this time, I don't have another book with a China theme planned, but I only work on one book at a time, so who knows? Maybe in the future!
Kelli Estes
Hands down, it's spending all day in sweatpants with no makeup on or hair done. :-) The second best thing is spending all day in a made up world I've created in my head.
This is making me sound anti-social, isn't it? :-)
The third best thing about being a writer is hearing from readers telling me that my story has touched them in some way. That, to be honest, is why I write. I hope that my stories matter to people as much as so many other authors stories have mattered to me.
This is making me sound anti-social, isn't it? :-)
The third best thing about being a writer is hearing from readers telling me that my story has touched them in some way. That, to be honest, is why I write. I hope that my stories matter to people as much as so many other authors stories have mattered to me.
Kelli Estes
I've found that writer's block is actually a big red flag telling me that I've gotten off track in my story, or I'm in the wrong character's POV, or even that I need to sit back and do some brainstorming for a fresh way to tackle the scene. My friend, author Elizabeth Boyle, taught me to make a list of at least 20 things that could happen next in the scene. The first few you think of will be boring and expected, but the ideas later in the list will be gold, and you'll be off and running.
Kelli Estes
No, all characters are fiction with the exception of some minor characters such as Captain Herbert Beecher, The Baron, and Preacher Gray. You can read more about these men in the section at the back of the book called, "A Conversation with the Author."
Thanks for your question. Happy reading!
Thanks for your question. Happy reading!
Kelli Estes
I've been working on my upcoming release, TODAY WE GO HOME (coming August 6, 2019), and I'm doing research for my next book. I have four different book ideas and am concurrently researching all of them, so I'm not able to share any of them just yet. Stay tuned to learn more!
Kelli Estes
For the "big" ideas that are what a book is about, I am inspired by something I learn that surprises me and causes an emotional reaction. For The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, it was the experiences of Chinese-Americans during the late 1800s when they were being violently expelled from communities all over the western U.S.
For daily inspiration to sit down and write, I make sure to put things in my book that I'm totally into and want to spend time with every day. For example, I absolutely adore the San Juan Islands so I had to set my book there. It was like taking a vacation every time I sat down to write. It's also little things, though, like the fact that I love tea. By having my characters drink tea, I feel like I'm living my passions, no matter how small, when I'm writing.
Beyond that, inspiration comes from seeing my page number growing. There's nothing more satisfying than getting nearer and nearer to the end!
For daily inspiration to sit down and write, I make sure to put things in my book that I'm totally into and want to spend time with every day. For example, I absolutely adore the San Juan Islands so I had to set my book there. It was like taking a vacation every time I sat down to write. It's also little things, though, like the fact that I love tea. By having my characters drink tea, I feel like I'm living my passions, no matter how small, when I'm writing.
Beyond that, inspiration comes from seeing my page number growing. There's nothing more satisfying than getting nearer and nearer to the end!
Kelli Estes
I got the idea for The Girl Who Wrote in Silk about ten years ago when I was researching the history of the San Juan Islands in WA state and came across a mention of a smuggler who was carrying a boat load of Chinese people. When the revenue cutter got too close, this smuggler needed to get rid of the evidence of his smuggling, so he brought the Chinese people on deck, clubbed them on the head, and threw their bodies overboard. I was horrified and could not stop thinking about it. For years I kept learning more...why the Chinese were being smuggled in the first place (because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882), and just how rampant the anti-Chinese sentiment was during the late 1800s (extremely). I was horrified, and horrified that I never knew about this time in our country's history. I had to write about it so others knew about it, too.
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